The Highwaymen

I recently returned from a quick trip to Florida. Part of the family was competing in an adventure race in Jasper, Georgia that was going to take several hours. They all left at 4 a.m., so I was left at the hotel but had to check out by 11. What was I going to do to entertain myself all day? I decided to head farther down the highway to find some antique shops or malls, but before I left the hotel, I was able to watch a very interesting local show featuring, “The Highwaymen,” who were a group of African-American painters who were known for old Florida paintings they started making in the 1950s.

The little old Florida town of Micanopy was advertised as one of the places with galleries featuring the paintings, so off I went!  What a cute old Florida town! The vintage storefronts were lined with large live oaks draped in Spanish moss. I was able to enjoy a Cuban sandwich and some key lime pie before I went off searching for the paintings.

The Highwaymen refers to a specific group of 26 men and one lady who were prolific artists at the time. They painted landscape scenes that no longer exist due to development. Alfred Hair is considered to be the founder. He and his friend, Harold Newton, started painting while in their teens. They were partially trained by a white painter, A. E. Backus, who was a prominent Florida landscape artist at the time. He became a good friend and mentor to the young men.

Alfred and Harold learned that they could make these paintings quickly, and Al Black found out that he could market these paintings to tourists and make a good profit and sell lots of paintings. He was able to take in a good sum of money to support all of them. He also learned to paint because he often had to touch-up the paintings before he sold them from his car since the paintings were still wet and often smudged while being transported.

Jim Fitch, a white art gallery owner, coined the term, “Highwaymen” because of their travels up and down the highways selling paintings. He wrote a historical account of the artists after spending many hours interviewing the painters. Fitch believes that over 200,000 paintings have been produced by the prolific artists over the years. Several have passed away and yet several are still painting in the old Florida style. They used to sell their paintings for $15 to $20 a piece, and now they sell for hundreds and even thousands for some early works.

Many fine museums have featured the works of the Highwaymen, and several books have been written. I was able to see some of the vintage and newer paintings, which were done on Upson board which was a cheap drywall that was more affordable for the artists to use back in the day. I encourage you to learn more about the artists from your library or favorite search engine. Happy Collecting!

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